THE NORTHERN UGANDA LIBRARY PROJECT

Uganda is located in East Africa between Latitudes 4012’N and 1029’S and Longitudes 29034’E and 3500’E, astride the equator. It covers 241,550.7 square kilometres  of  land,  of  which  41,743.2  square  kilometres  is  open  water  and swamps.[1] The country is about 800 kilometres inland from the Indian Ocean.[2]  It is bordered by Kenya in the East, Tanzania in the South, Rwanda in the South West, Sudan in the North and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the West.

Uganda is mostly a plateau whose fringes are marked by mountains and valleys. These, together with other physical features, affect the provision of education in some areas. For instance, access to schools by pupils, teachers and inspectors in Island District of Kalangala is constrained by the fact that the district is made up of many small islands on Lake Victoria. So is the situation in the rocky and mountainous districts, such as Bundibugyo and  Kisoro in the West and Sironko and Bukwo in the East.

The country is divided into 87 districts (see map on page 4) which, under the policy of decentralization, are administered by the Local Governments. Uganda’s population, which is mainly agricultural, is growing rapidly; rising from 24.2 million in 2002 to the estimated figure of 32 million persons by the end of 2010.[3] About a half of the population is under the age of 15 years, which results in a high level of child dependence ratio and creates a built-in momentum for future growth. The

high rate of population growth affects Uganda’s effort to achieve and sustain effective provision of education. For example, the number of primary school pupils

is likely to increase from 7.5 million in 2007 to 18.4 million in 2037.[4]

The people of Uganda are of many ethnic groups, each with a different mother tongue.  These local languages are used as a media of instruction in lower primary (P1 - P3) in rural areas, while English is taught as a subject.  However, English is the official language and medium of instruction in upper primary schools and higher institutions of learning. Kiswahili is also widely used.

Uganda has made significant development progress over the last two decades. According to the latest Uganda National Household Survey, published late in 2006, the national poverty rate has declined to 31% for 2005/06, from 56% in 1992/93 and 38% in 2002/03[5]. Prudent macroeconomic policies have generated robust growth, at an average rate of

 

5.6% over the five years to 2004/05 and forecasted at 6.4% for 2006/07-2008/09. HIV/AIDSadult prevalence has declined significantly from around 18% in the early 1990s to 6.4% in 2005 and primary level net enrolment rates have increased from 62.3% in 1992 to 92% for girls and 94% for boys in 2006[6].

Uganda remains one of the poorest countries in the world, however, ranked 145 out of 177 countries by the Human Development Index[7]. In 2006, per capita income was approximately US$300 in 2007 and has grown to US$490 recently, life expectancy was approximately 49 years in 2007 and has grown to 54 years of late while population growth amongst the highest in the world at 3.3%[8].

The poverty decline in Uganda has not been experienced uniformly across the country. In the Northern region of Uganda, for example, poverty decline has been modest at only approximately 17% since 1992/93. This is compared to substantial progress made in the West and Central regions of Uganda, where poverty has declined by around 60% since 1992/3 (World Bank, 2007b: 3). Table 1 compares a range of welfare indicators across the four regions of Uganda, highlighting that the Northern region has the highest poverty rate, highest annual average population growth, highest fertility levels, highest proportion of people living in a hut and lowest proportion of people owning a mobile phone.

Table 1: Welfare Indicators by Region

	Poverty 2005/06 (%)	Annual average population growth (1991- 2006) (%)	Fertility (births per woman, 2000) (%)	Dwelling type – hut (2005/06) (%)	Ownership of mobile phone (2005/06) (%)
Central	16.4	2.6	5.7	3	23
East	35.9	3.5	7.4	31	11
North	60.7	4.2	7.9	68	5
West	31.1	3.2	-	22	17

Source: Regional Forecasts (2007: 12) based on UBOS Population and Housing Censes

1991 and 2002, National Household Survey 2005/06 and Uganda Demographic Household

Survey 2000

Lackluster progress in the North can be attributed to a vicious cycle of conflict, massive displacement, thwarted economic activity, complications in service delivery and the immense poverty that has gripped the northern region of the country[9]. The conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and Ugandan Government’s Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) was a significant driver of this poverty and poor development and the disparity between northern Uganda and the rest of the country. Explanations for the conflict are complex and intertwined and include Uganda’s colonial history[10], a tradition of political mobilisation along ethnic and regional lines since Independence[11]  and the LRA’s (albeit unclear) religious and identity driven agenda[12] .

While the drivers of and explanation for the conflict are complex, the poverty and development implications are clear. More than 1.3 million people were displaced. Women and children represent 80% of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and had been the direct targets of attacks, abductions and sexual violence. The right of access to essential services in health, nutrition, safe water, shelter, protection and education by the most vulnerable populations remains largely unfulfilled[13]. In these physically insecure contexts, it is very difficult for households to make economic investments. On the one hand, this insecurity has prevented Northern Uganda from accessing and benefiting from markets. On the other hand, it has substantially hindered investment and hence growth.[14]

The impact of this insecurity on regional inequality, and the implications of this insecurity for growth and development, is recognised as a significant challenge by the Ugandan Government.  Throughout Uganda’s Poverty Eradication Action Plan (Uganda’s PRSP), reference is made to the importance of improving security in Northern Uganda and reducing regional disparities between the North and the rest of the country (Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, 2004).

Uganda aspires to eradicate poverty through several strategies including Universal Primary Education (UPE). The UPE strategy started being implemented in 1997 and scored several positives especially in terms of increasing the school enrollments.  There  are still major  challenges  facing  UPE  including  quality  issues,  drop out rates and limited  access to books especially  supplementary  readers.  The limited  exposure  to supplementary  readers  has  had  grave  consequences  on  the  pupils’  performance  in national exams  as studies  by the National Assessment in Progress in Education found out[15], a majority of the pupils fail because they cannot read and interpret the examination question.

Education can fundamentally be developed through a process of providing knowledge, skill or competences to a learner or learners through optimal utilization  of libraries  and information services. Access to school libraries have the most potential in improving learning achievements and gains which in turn would influence  the learner’s  quality of life in later years and their contributions  to the national aspirations.

The  centrality  of  school  libraries  and  their  development   to  facilitate  delivery  of  quality education  has been on Uganda’s  national educational  agenda for many years including  as far back as 1963 in the Castle Report of the Uganda Educational  Commission,  the 1975 Ministry of Education Library Committee, the 1977 Standing Committee of Public Libraries Board, and 1978 UNESCO study on development  of school libraries[16]. In latter years several  legal and policy frameworks  including:  the Government  White paper on education  1992  which  provides  guidelines  on the  need  for  libraries  and  their  utilisation  in schools and communities,  the Universal Primary Education (UPE) Guidelines which advocate for writers/readers  clubs in schools, and the National Textbook  Policy 1997.

It is clear from the above exposition  that Uganda’s  education  system is very rich in terms of policy  and legal  frameworks.  However school library  development  in Uganda  continues  to suffer under funding, neglect and lack of a school library specific policy. Following several studies  on  School  Library  Development   in  Uganda,  a  blueprint  for developing  school  libraries  and  information  services has been developed.  Some of the  recommendations  of these studies have been incorporated  into the draft School Library Development  (SLD) Policy by the Ministry of Education  and Sports (2005). The Vision of the SLD policy is “a Uganda where national development  is enhanced through lifelong learning and an information literate society capable  of  harnessing  the  environment  around  them”[17]

A lot of work has generally been done in Uganda as relates to availing accessible and reliable reading and reference materials to students, teachers and researchers throughout the country. Several academic institutions in the category of Universities, Tertiary Academic Colleges, Secondary Schools, Primary Schools, Nursery Schools (both Private and Public) have taken on the initiative setting up their own Libraries with and without the support of government and other funding bodies. These Libraries, however, faced the challenge of high running costs brought about by the frequent replacement of out of date editions. Other libraries have resorted to maintaining old out of date books which are no longer useful or relevant to those who are accessing them.

Northern Ugandan districts have suffered this challenge the most as a result of the insurgency that has fenced off the region from even the little it would have got from funders who have been hesitant to execute their projects within the region as a result of the on-going war. This, compounded with a number of other socio-economic challenges, has further aggravated the regions’ dire state of Education and has gone ahead to widen the development gap between the region and other regions.

In a bid to address this challenge and establish the region at high competitive edge, LIRA INTEGRATED SCHOOL has initiated THE NORTHERN UGANDA LIBRARY PROJECT (NULIP).

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[1] Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2010 Statistical Abstract , Pg 1 http://www.ubos.org

[2] Uganda Geography, 2010 CIA World fact book http://www.geotheodora.com

[3]Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2010 Statistical Abstract , Pg 11 http://www.ubos.org

[4]Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development, Population secretariat: Uganda – Population Factors and National Development , January 2010 , Page 2

[5] Uganda Bureau of Statistics (2006) ‘Uganda National Household Survey, 2005/06

[6]World Bank Uganda – Country brief  http://go.worldbank.org/FBNY7UVIF0 (11 November 2007).

[7] UNDP (2006) ‘Human Development Report 2006 – Country Fact Sheets – Uganda’, http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_UGA.html (I November 2007).

[8] World Bank Uganda – Country brief  http://go.worldbank.org/FBNY7UVIF0 (11 November 2007)./ May 12 2012

[9] World Bank November 2007 ‘Republic of Uganda Joint IDA-IMF Staff Advisory Note on the Poverty Reduction Strategy paper Annual Progress Report’, http://www.worldbank.org/

[10] Doom, Ruddy and Vlassenroot, Koen (1999) ‘Kony’s Messaage: A New Koine? The Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda’, African Affairs, 98, pp. 5-36.

[11] Van Acker, Frank (2004) ‘Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army: The New Order No One Ordered’, African Affairs, 103, 412, pp. 335-357.

[12] International Crisis Group (2004) ‘Northern Uganda: Understanding and Solving the Conflict’, ICG Africa Report No. 77 (Nairobi/Brussels: International Crisis Group).

[13] UNICEF (2007) ‘Uganda. UNICEF Humanitarian Situation Report – External September 2007,  http://www.reliefweb.int

[14] Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (2004) ‘Poverty Eradication Action Plan (2004/5 – 2007/8)’

[15] UNEB (2010)  National Assessment of Progress in Education pg75

[16] Magara, E. and Bukirwa N. Joyce. 2004. Towards a School Library Development Policy for

Uganda, Library Review, 53(6): 313-322.

[17] Ministry of Education and Sports. 2005. School Library Development Policy: Final Draft, Technical Committee on the School Library Development Policy, MoES.